Have a wonderful weekend!

I have almost completed my website; I am well on my way to organizing my photos; I have put together a newsletter which I am planning on sending out monthly; I have a facebook fanpage and I have been working on my blog.  Have I forgotten anything?

It is a bit much for me sitting behind the computer for hours, and I really miss painting daily, but I decided to take the weekend off, and start posting again on Monday.  So, have a wonderful holiday and I hope you each have something special to celebrate. 

Stepping Out With Friends 5"x7" oil

I have been very busy organizing my photos which are completely out of control, naming them and building a website.  I am also learning a gazillion  other things in Leslie Saeta's webinArts class, but it is taking me an inordinate amount of time which diminishes my time to paint.  However, in the process of trying to track down the names of some of my pieces, I realized there are several that I didn't post, including this one, which I love!  Karin Jurick calls these "tuxedo colors" and I really like that image.  What I like about this piece is their posture, and the way they are almost a part of the background painting "Stepping Out" by Roy Lichtenstein.  I am including a test slide show project I did to practice for learning how to do this.  It is VERY short!  Enjoy.

click here for a very short painting video

The Bird Tree 5"x6" oil

This is clearly another value study and I will be adding a bit of color to it in a few days.  I want to be really stingy on the color for this one because I like the graphic effect of the black and white, but I want to give more sky and highlight the bird and squirrel, which has a really large head that I didn't see until I posted it here.  I promised myself I would look at all my photos carefully before posting them but I seem to have forgotten that promise!  On another note I taught a painting class at the Chaffee Art Center last night and it was a lot of fun with an enthusiastic group.NFS yet

Family Story Time 5"x7" oil

This is a value study.  It is painting in a light, a medium and a dark value.  This is a really important aspect of creating a good composition and painting it in grays is a good exercise for practice.  It makes you really see the shapes rather than the "things" or "people."  After all, painting is not about things, it is about chemicals arranged on a flat surface that give an illusion.  I will go back in and put chemicals over this that give the illusion of lovely color and hopefully it will turn out delightfully!
NFS

Snapping In 6"x6" oil

I love watching people snap into their skis before they enter the cue for the lift.  They strike such interesting poses.  The snow boarders have a funny little hop to get up to the chairlift because they only strap on one foot.  They play old rock n' roll through loud speakers but I think they could choreograph the movements of the boarders/skiers to another kind of music and it would look like a kind of dance.

Out of the Woods 5"x7" oil

I love skiing and have been fortunate to be able to go out a lot this year.  Spring skiing has been great.  The advantage of living so close to a resort is that I can go up every day for a few hours and ski or work out or snowshoe or hike, and still have the rest of the day to work and paint and take care of business.  This skier is more adventurous than I am.  She likes skiing in the woods, double diamonds and moguls. Nancy Colella posted a painting last week based on a very similar image. The sky was her background and she called it "Red, White and Blue," and it is a really fun painting that inspired me to paint mine.  I put the trees behind mine to tell a different story. Also my skier has on a helmet, which may not be as pretty, but is much more safe!  Please were your helmets!

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The Attic 5"x7" mixed media

Abstract Weekend Low Side-This is the last of my abstracts based on other painter's realistic works.  I was inspired by Ryan Brown's work.  His paintings look very classically beautiful and are stunning.  This is based on his painting "An Appreciation."  His is the image of a young woman in the corner of a nice studio admiring artwork stacked around her.  It is mostly neutrals and flesh tones, and is a hexagonal shape.  Mine in contrast is rectangular and bursting with warm color, with no light values (I am sure that breaks some rule!).   My  image is more like a gypsy in a babouska digging through boxes in a dusty old attic!

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The Match 5"x7" mixed media

Abstract Weekend - High End  Last weekend and this weekend I have done works based on another artist's realistic painting.  This one is based on George Bellow's "Stag at Sharkey's."  It is a wrestling match in a ring with  the heads of spectators.  What I really love about his painting is the tremendous action and tension in it.  He used mostly grayish neutrals in dominate darks, a lesser proportion of lights, and a small amount of medium values, but he has touches of red in the focal point that emphasize the blood flow to the head, neck and arms.  Mine is mostly in mid-values, with lesser darks and only touches of light. I have also been more generous with the redish tones.


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Beth and Brie 6"x6" oil

Beth owns a very cool place in Killington, VT, with her husband.  It is called Liquid Art.  It is an espresso bar (with bakery) and art gallery and a martini bar at night.  It is a warm and lovely environment with a fireplace, couches, a huge aquarium and beautiful warm wood.  They also have very cool events there.  I am happy to say they show my work along with some  fabulous artists, including Beth, who is a photographer and prints her work in huge sizes.  Both Beth and her daughter Brie are wearing matching hats made by Rebecca, which are also sold in their gallery. 
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Granite Bench oil 5"x7"

This roadside park is a perfect place to stretch your legs, have a picnic, sit on the granite bench and watch the roaring waterfalls or hike up on the ledges to the wooden bench to listen to the tumbling stream that flows into the river above the falls.



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A Light At the End of the Tunnel 5"x7" oil

This was inspired by a DWP challenge to paint the path of light.  I think this really tells the story of hope in the midst of a storm.  I don't use photos without the photographer's permission, but I came across one on a free-use site that inspired this painting.  The photo was really spectacular and needs no more interpretation, but I liked the idea or story  it tells so I wanted to do it.

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Self Portrait In Big Scarf oil 4"x6"

I have been wanting to do a large series of self portraits to practice doing faces from life.  I am the most cooperative model I have!  This one was inspired by a DPW challenge to paint fabric, so I put on a big scarf and am looking down.  I didn't worry so much about making the scarf look authentic, and I didn't use the actual colors of the scarf, but kept it to a limited palette.  I really like how it turned out and I put it as my profile on my FB page.

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PICO Lodge 5"x7" oil

This is where I spend a good number of mornings during the week.  It is where the "locals" ski and I love it.  March skiing has been so great!  The day of this photo the fog was so thick you couldn't really see the mountain behind the lodge, just the bottom of a few trails, which look like swirling smoke in the thick fog.

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After, After 5"x7" mixed media

Abstract Weekend Day #2-  This weekend and next I am doing abstracts based on other artist's realistic works.  This one is based on Van Gogh's "Courtesane."  I find it interesting that I am basing mine on an artist who based his on another artist's work.  I could do a whole series on that idea!  I used to tutor college students, mostly in writing term papers and preparing for tests, but what I really loved about it was the opportunity to study something I wouldn't normally come across.  Van Gogh was one of those subjects.  Knowing more about an artist of his fame certainly adds to my appreciation of his work and style.  He was a genius in getting wonderful colors and textures from his brushwork.  My piece gets it's texture from thick paint and collage elements.


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Couch Potato 5"x7" mixed media

Abstract Weekend Day#1:  I decided to do abstracts based on other artist's work for this weekend and next.  My inspiration for this painting was Richard Schmid's "Zorro."  Richard Schmid is a renowned painter who lives in New Hamsphire.  His works are spectacular. 



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Rosebud and the Flower Princess 5"x7" oil

I love this painting and these girls!

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Mmmm Good 5"x7" oil

The princess likes her treat in a royal sapphire cobalt blue crystal ice cream dish!

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I Dressed Myself! 5"x7" oil

The princess dressed herself and she is mighty pleased about it!

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Expecting 5"x7" oil

When we open a book we are all "Expecting" something.  If you are pregnant, you may be expecting some help on knowing what to expect....then again, maybe she is perusing the mystery section...anyway, I couldn't resist this pose with her on her tippy toes.  I am loving to paint this series of Mind*Body*Spirit.  I am hoping to add some skiing paintings in to it too.

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Research 5"x7" oil

This photo may be a little red...the painting is not so red.  I just noticed this.  This is another painting from my Mind*Body*Spirit series.  She is in search of the perfect answer.

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Flutters 5"x7" mixed media

It is the back end of abstract weekend.  I titled this "Flutters" as in "the butterfly flutters over the flower" and also "I have the flutters looking down this black diamond ski trail."  The beauty of motion and that uncomfortable motion in the belly are universally familiar sensations for humankind.  That is about as profound as I get.  I consider this to be a feminine piece.  I saw a performance by the Peking Acrobats this week and was astounded by their athleticism, but even more impressed by how delicate and feminine the women looked and their performance included lovely dance moves and live music.  Their strength, stamina and flexibility were superb.  I think that experience influenced this piece.

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Zoning In 4"x5" mixed media

It is the front end of an abstract weekend.  I am referring to both my art and my life.  Yesterday was the prelude with almost perfect skiing conditions and then a race to get ready for today.  Today is all about our big fund raiser for the Carving Studio and Sculpture Center with a big "gala" event tonight.  Gala is one of those words I don't often have a chance to use.  Tomorrow is relax and get things back to normal day.  But today, I am "Zoning In" on the tasks that need to be completed.

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Body Mind Spirit 5"x7" oil

This is the beginning of a series, but I won't do it everyday.  I like to mix things up as it keeps me interested.  I am going to call the series "Body Mind and Spirit."  I got the idea from the photo I used for this piece.  This gentleman is in the "Body Mind Spirit" section of my absolutely favorite bookstore (Northshire Bookstore in Manchester, VT and Saratoga Springs, NY).  He is looking at the books about dealing with back pain, which I think you can kind of see in his awkward posture.  This will be an interesting series for me because it can just about go anywhere and I am excited to see where it takes me, once I get out of the bookstore!

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